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Weekly news and features for business continuity professionals

A federal class-action lawsuit against Exxon Mobil Corporation over a 2013 crude oil spill in central Arkansas has been dismissed by a federal judge, who acknowledged in his ruling that his decision seems unfair.
U.S. District Judge Brian Miller on dismissed the lawsuit with prejudice, meaning it cannot be refiled.

Kyushu Electric Power Co. and Chugoku Electric Power Co. decided to decommission aging reactors, following a similar move the previous day by the operators of two nuclear power plants in Fukui Prefecture amid safety concerns in the wake of the 2011 Fukushima nuclear crisis.

The call for presentations for the 2015 Continuity Insights New York Conference is now open. This year's conference will tak place Oct. 20-21 and will once again be held at the Wyndham New Yorker Hotel. Those who would like to submit a presentation for consideration on our program can do so here.

Could a changing climate and changing environments have an impact on the spread of infectious diseases? At least one Zoologist thinks so. In an article posted in February on Continuity Insights’ sister publications R&D, Daniel Brooks of University of Nebraska-Lincoln discussed how the spread of infectious diseases like the West Nile Virus and Ebola could be linked to changing climate.

The Business Continuity Institute (BCI) has declared the week of March 16 Business Continuity Awareness Week. The theme this year will be “testing and exercising business continuity plans.” The BCI has gathered webinars, blogs, materials and other information in an effort to help both experienced business continuity professionals and those new to the industry.

The Pacific island nation of Vanuatu has lost years of development progress and must "start anew" following a powerful cyclone that destroyed or damaged 90 percent of the buildings in the capital of Port Vila, the country's president said.

Americans are getting older, but not this old: Social Security records show that 6.5 million people in the U.S. have reached the ripe old age of 112. Social Security does not have death records for millions of these people, with the oldest born in 1869, according to a report by the agency's inspector general.

The Ohio River crested at its highest level in two decades, leaving riverside residents relieved but cautious as forecasters warned that flooding problems will linger much of the week ahead. The National Weather Service said the river crested at around 6 a.m. at 57.7 feet, or seven feet below the 1997 level that caused severe, widespread flooding in the Cincinnati area and in Kentucky.

Firefighters in Chile gained the upper hand on a coastal blaze that had gotten close to the neighboring cities of Valparaiso and Vina del Mar, but officials said strong winds could still pose a threat. About 200 firefighters on the ground and water-dumping helicopters and planes were battling the wildfire, which started Friday afternoon at an illegal dump and quickly spread.

Ten health care workers with a Boston-based nonprofit organization responding to Sierra Leone's Ebola outbreak are to be evacuated to the United States after one of their colleagues was infected with the deadly disease. The Partners in Health staffer who became infected has already been evacuated and is receiving treatment at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland.

Boston finally has its snow record, and it could get more. With 2.9 inches Sunday, Logan International Airport hit 108.6 inches for the season, topping the previous record of 107.6 inches set in 1995-96, according to the National Weather Service.

A former owner of Freedom Industries has pleaded guilty to charges stemming from last year's chemical spill in Charleston. He faces up to a year in prison. The spill contaminated drinking water for 300,000 residents for days.

Heavy rain over the weekend caused mudslides around western Washington, including one that has stopped passenger train service between Seattle and the city of Everett, about 25 miles north. The National Weather Service says Sunday's rainfall broke records across western Washington.

The New York Chapter of the Contingency Planning Exchange (CPE) hosted its half day quarterly event, which featured presentations and a panel discussion focusing on storm and flood resilience in New York City, on Wednesday, March 11 at Credit Suisse.

North Carolina environmental officials said they are fining Duke Energy $25 million over pollution that has been seeping into groundwater for years from a pair of coal ash pits at a retired power plant. The state Department of Environment and Natural Resources called it the state's largest penalty for environmental damages.